Hell's Heart
by TakeItAsItIs
Summary: After making a deal with the Devil, literally, Ichigo Kurosaki is tied to a permanent contract. He is to work as a spirit handler, opening the gates of Hell and letting souls inside. His only problem? The Lord of the Sixth Level, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez.
1. Prologue

**This is my first fiction. Please be my critics!**

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Darkness fell like a thick blanket, suffocating and cold. The faint smell of something burning intoxicated the area. Ichigo Kurosaki wrinkled his nose in disgust and was about to say something about it when he reminded himself of where he was, and held his tongue instead. His downcast brown eyes sought the ground, but there was no ground, as far as anyone could tell. It seemed like he was floating in midair, but there was no floor below his feet and there was no ceiling limiting his flight. Well, not so much flight, as he was literally suspended in midair, his muscles betraying him from moving even an inch.

"Are you sure?" that same booming voice sounded, echoing off imaginary walls. It's high pitch tone was starting to gnaw on Ichigo's nerves and he frowned deeply. Of course he was sure. He wouldn't be here if he wasn't, would he. No, he'd have avoided this place all together. He didn't even believe it at first. But now, he seemed to have no choice but to, with what his eyes were telling him. "I mean, you really want to save them, huh?"

"Just help already," he snarled, disgruntled by how small his voice seemed and by the laugh that followed his reply.

"Ah, very well then, Ichigo Kurosaki," the voice continued. Something across from the 13-year old glowed a bright red but he didn't lift his head to see it. "Have a good life."

In the next second, the nothingness around him was replaced with a piercing white light and the sound of alarms.

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Ichigo raised his head, senses returning to him, and then squeezed his eyes shut as the flames flickered and burned his pupils, throwing cinder in his face. He coughed out the smoke from his lungs and fell to his knees, his body shuddering as the heat of the fire engulfed his whole form. Somewhere through the searing sound of fallen furniture and combusting wood came another, more terrifying sound. A scream and blaring sirens that seemed too far away.

"Yuzu!" Ichigo screamed and immediately afterwards started hacking. He couldn't breath and crouched even further to the floor, trying to avoid the smoke above. He grabbed the collar of his shirt and breathed in it instead, hoping the sweat his body was producing would hold him up for a little longer.

The boy's door had long since been eaten by the fire so it was simple getting past it and into the hallway. Ichigo's eyes widened as he saw the cracked hole made at the very corner near the end of the hall and he hoped to God none of his family had fallen through. They would have been sucked in and burned to death by now. But then he remembered what had gone on a few seconds ago and his worry for his family vanished as he struggled in his position to move to the stairs as quickly as possible. He was half way down when an explosion at the front door sent him toppling back, and he cried as his back made contact with the edge of the railing. He stayed in his fallen position and didn't try to get back up for he knew it was useless. His body was weakening on him, and the flames were so close that they danced in mockery around his fingers.

His sight blurred and the heat became completely unbearable. Someone was shaking him now and he simply wanted to push whoever it was away because he was getting dizzy and because he was tired. But it seemed like there was no need for him to move as he was hoisted up onto strong, sturdy shoulders and was moving at a high speed, past the dangerous ceiling and out into the starry night sky. Another explosion at the top floor jolted Ichigo but he still allowed his saviour to throw him onto the cool grass. More sounds followed, this time the boy could distinguish them as human voices, but he paid them no mind as he kept his eyes closed, his head back and his body, still baking, lie calmly.

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Karin giggled under her breath and made a move to poke her brother's cheek burn again, fascinated by it's crusty texture and redness that resembled a cherry. Ichigo winced at the touches but he made no move to stop her, just happy that she was smiling again. Yuzu, who sat on the other side of him, had a book in her lap and was reading it with interest even though it contained words she couldn't yet read. Her face crunched up as she trailed, with her small finger, under a six-letter word that baffled her.

"'Jackle'" Ichigo whispered in his sister's ear. Her head turned and she beamed at him with her almost toothless smile. He couldn't help but sling an arm around her shoulders and pull her in for a hug, Karin following suit, clinging to her brother's other shoulder.

The old nurse who stood across from them smirked warmly at the sight, blessing her hearts for the safety of the siblings. They looked so calm and cheerful that it was shocking to believe what they had gone through just yesterday night. A beeping sound wailed from the nurse's caller that hung on her neck and she taped it once to silence it before turning, her mood changing from light to aphotic, and slogged down the white, well-lit hallway. Her velvet shoes made no sound as she reached the last door to her right and placed her hand on the cool metal, pausing before pushing to over and entering the bright blue room.

Isshin Kurosaki grinned like a hyena at her with his one good eye, the other bandaged up, along with his left leg and right arm, which were secured in casts. He waved the square white box in his hand, thumb grazing the picture of a red cross which acted as a button.

"Nurse, can I see my kiddies now?" he purred. The elderly woman frowned at him and sighed.

"You know my answer…"

"Please!" he whined, and she could not believe the man was an adult with that kind of voice.

"Mr. Kurosaki, you're kids are going to be checked up soon. They have no time to see you."

"…please?" The nurse gave him a finalized look. "How about if I pay you?"

"For heaven's sake!" she exclaimed, shaking a finger at him. "Stop your ridiculous bribing! They need to be over-looked!"

Isshin's face fell and the nurse felt a small pang of guilt, but it was the hospital's precaution.

"Can I see them after?"

"Perhaps. Just get some rest," she huffed, pacing into the room and coming up to his side. She fluffed the pillows he wasn't leaning on and tucked in the thick blankets. "They are fine, well and healthy. Don't rush their healing. You've got some business to take care of also." She eyed the man thoughtfully. His eyes, that matched his son's in colour, were brooding, gazing at the half-finished lunch of chicken in front of him. The nurse brushed dried rice off the desk and folded it, picking up the plate in the process. Before she turned away, she gave the man one final look. "You know you and your family are some of the lucky ones."

Isshin's shoulders swept up and down sluggishly and he bundled into his bed, taking car to rest his broken arm slowly. "Yeah…sure."

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Yuzu Kurosaki brushed back her short light brown hair and raised her head right up to admire the bright sun in the clear blue sky. Small clouds were joyfully shaped like cotton candy and the young girl giggled fruitlessly as she squeezed the cold metal of the crunch her limping father possessed. Isshin did his best to hold onto the energetic child with the hand busy supporting the accessory as she leaped down the stone steps of the hospital, waving at birds and passing cars. Karin walked next to Ichigo, their hands connected as well, her hair tied back in a ponytail, showing of the large scar that traced from the middle of her forehead across the her right temple. Evident stitches stood out against the angry red colour but Karin found the injury 'cool' and wanted to show it off to her friends, much to Ichigo's dismay. He disliked the idea of his sister enjoying the cut but then again, she wasn't old enough to understand how she'd gotten it. And frankly, neither Karin nor Yuzu wanted to talk about the incident despite being oblivious.

Isshin was still trying to manage the problem at hand. His house had been burned to a crisp, nearly everything inside dispersing into ashes that now have been no doubt cleaned up by the insurance company. It would take months for the repairs to be done and the bill was probably going to send Isshin back to the hospital for a completely different reason. But the older man could not show the dismay of his family's situation to his children. This was a rough event for them and they wanted a parent figure to lean on. Isshin had to be strong.

Ignoring his still bandaged arm and the cast on his leg, the father bent down and picked up his light daughter, yelling out happily that they were "finally out of that stuffy, boring hospital" and swung her around as best he could, while she screamed with delight. Karin huffed out at the sight, trying to seem more mature than she really was, but Ichigo noticed the tightening in her jaw and knew the tomboy wanted to be picked up like that too. To compensate, the older brother grabbed both Karin's hands and had her spin around till she was screaming just as loud as her fraternal twin sister.

People around them watched with either lightened up faces or scrunched up eyebrows, but all avoiding the family, to give them space to breathe the scent of greenery around them.

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Ichigo flicked the light switch, conveniently placed on the wall close to his height, on and watched as the small, tattered room illuminated with a yellow glow. The walls were a pale peach colour and the floor was simply a large, hard, wooden tile. The bed was propped up on one of the corners, bare with only two thin pillows on one end, and the window beside it was cracked and open, ugly yellow curtain fluttering in the soft summer breeze. Well, at least it smelt better than the bathroom.

The Kurosaki son waltzed into the room in his black shoes, leaving dirty smudge marks he promised himself he would clean up later, and threw the heavy blue duffle bag on the bed. It bounced a bit before coming to a halt on it's side and Ichigo quickly took to opening the small gap at the tip of the pack. Wrinkled pants and shirts, as well as tumbles of underwear and socks, fell from the gap and sprinkled the colourless futon in dark greens and reds. Ichigo threw the carry-on, now limp and weak, to the side and began his folding. It didn't take long as the firemen retrieved what was left of his wardrobe which wasn't much. He placed his work on the floor, right next to his bed and got up, watching the outline of a bird precariously perched on a branch attached to a thick maple tree right outside the tall, old building. It sang a song and Ichigo whistled back before being called into the living.

The whole apartment room was at least more impressive then the other's the Kurosakis had ventured to check out. It was clean, for the most part, and reliable, small and well rented for. The apartment was especially good for how close it was to their last home. Thankfully, the clinic had been saved before the massive fire had reached any major parts of it and it would be restored in a matter of days, meaning that Isshin could go back to work and the kids could go to school.

Karin and Yuzu were already sitting on the grubby brown couch, one of the three furniture in the small desolate living room. Isshin was sliding a short, stumpy table to the middle of the carpeted area, his crunches abandoned temporarily to the side, when Ichigo came in, sliding to sit in between his sister's who immediately came to snuggle up on either side of him. Burns still littered the 13-year-old's arms and legs but less sever than how they had looked before and his normal tanned skin colour was returning.

Isshin took a risk and sat on the table, grateful that it did not blow under him, and leaned in so he could take a good look at his children. They all looked just tired, too exhausted to worry and cry. That had been for the days they'd spent in the hospital and now they just needed to figure out what to do at the present time. Isshin propped his diffracted leg onto the edge of the couch and tried for a smile that fell as his son's mesmerizing eyes peered through long orange bangs.

"Ah…well, I suppose we're going to have to live here for awhile, kiddies," he began with a sigh, wishing he had a cigarette pack with him.

"Do we have to?" Yuzu's dopey voice was muffled by her brother's shirt.

"Sorry, honey," Isshin ruffled his daughter's hair. She already looked like she was fast asleep. "It'll only be for a bit. Till those nice men can fix our house."

"How long?" Karin piped in.

"I honestly don't know," the father scratched the back of his head and for some reason looked to Ichigo for a little help.

"Let's just make the most of it," the boy answered, relaxing his muscles to let the girls use his body as a pillow. "We're alive and we're here so let's just try our very best from now on."

Isshin blinked, impressed by his son's wisdom. He nodded and knew he'd need to keep up with his own son if he was to be the parent here.

"Right. Like Ichigo said, we should be happy that we all are here, healthy and well." Isshin got up, wincing with a bit of pain, and came to give a giant hug to his three kids. They outstretched their own arms and hugged back, heads down, sniffing their father's natural scent of mint and fags.

Yet unbeknownst to the girls and their father, Ichigo's mind was reeling, not calming down, as the memory of his encounter, which had played over and over in his head at the hospital, came back to haunt him once again.

_Yes…I will protect my family at all costs_, he thought grimly and disarmingly to himself. _Even if I had to sell my soul to the Devil_.

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**Thank you for reading!**


	2. Chapter 1

_**Thank you all for the reviews! I will try my best to make sure this fic lives up to it's seeming expectations. And the criticism is extremely helpful. I'd like to learn to get better at my writing, so if ever you have a problem or two, please don't ever be hesitant in mentioning it!**_

_**For further information, you'll need to know that I will be referencing to Dante's Inferno when it comes to how many levels of Hell there will be. In other words, there are 9 levels of Hell in my story.**_

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Renji Abarai trotted down the concrete stairway that lead up to the newly painted entrance of his high school, with a joyful two-steps pattern, and landed semi-wobbly on the patch of clean cut grass below. His best friend, the now 17-year-old Ichigo Kurosaki, followed his trail, but decided to take his time descending. Ichigo didn't want to risk a broken bone or two, especially with his new job. It was a miracle he was getting any kind of homework done these days.

Karakura High School wasn't an overly impressive building, three stories high, holding seven hundred students and containing around two hundred to two hundred and five rooms, not including the necessities like offices and cafeterias. It was an honest structure, surrounded by evergreen trees and bushes, which the small gardening club at the school tended to every week, and surrounded by shops of all kinds. Students took to the marketplace during the breaks when desperate for a replacement of a forgotten lunch. A shed, half the size of the school itself, sat on the left side, looming over an ample blue track field and housing all the equipment for the small number of sport teams representing the school. Ichigo wasn't a completely muscle-headed character but didn't mind working out now and then.

"Would you calm down?" the teenager asked as he followed the pace of the redhead. Renji was already half way down the sidewalk, hoping a bit, his flat brown backpack dangling from his fingers.

"It's a live concert, dude! Everyone's been dieing to get tickets to go see _HALO_. I'm just happy cause I grabbed the last two!"

Ichigo still pondered on how the tanned man had managed to talk him into going, on a pleasant Friday mind you, to an open and smelly theatre hall to listen to loud, brash and crude music composed by a wannabe punk band with thousands of howling calls from their hyped fans, blowing his eardrums and rendering him, more or less, temporarily deaf. Instead of commenting, Kurosaki rolled his eyes when Renji had his back turned. No point in rejecting the invitation at the last minute.

When they reached a corner, the two boys said their good byes and headed into opposite streets. Renji's bus stop was a few blocks from the school as he leaved in the suburban side of the town. Ichigo lived in a neighbourhood where the houses were so close together, they gave the illusion of a townhouse, or even an apartment sometimes. Ichigo's family owned an outlet called the KUROSAKI CLINIC that sat underneath his actual home. It was a shared business, with the sibling taking turns in helping out their trained father over the course of a week, piling pills and giving amateur advice. Yuzu Kurosaki had dreams of becoming a nurse or doctor, but Ichigo had no interest in the medicine field. His other sister Karin was training to become a professional athlete in either soccer or baseball.

Ichigo slide open the glass doors of the infirmary and walked across the aisles of bottled and boxed antidotes, labelled delicately and placed with an almost eerily organization. He stepped around the counter and went through the side door, meeting with the sight of a tattered office. He made a mental note to clean the place up when he had the time and advanced towards another door, leading to the main Kurosaki household.

"I'm home," he announced, clicking the entranceway open with his spare key and relieving himself of his shoes, entering with his bare socks. Almost immediately, a battle cry that resembled a wailing of a dieing bear resounded inside the small room and Ichigo quickly bent his knees and ducked his head as a giant black and white blur passed over, the breeze his father's body made blowing strands of orange hair into Ichigo's eyes. A loud thud followed, expectedly, as Isshin Kurosaki collided with the wooden wall, twitching a bit before falling down on his back, a groan of pain ringing in his throat.

"Th-That was a good dodge, m-my son," the man croaked. Ichigo frowned and scowled.

"Quit that all ready, stupid goatee!"

"But I must train you!" Isshin exclaimed, quickly getting to his feet despite the scratch on his cheek that welded up with blood.

"For what!" Ichigo exclaimed.

"For anything!"

Karin skipping down the stairs and came into the living room, took one look at the two battling men, and turned, normally, towards the kitchen to get herself a snack. "Hey, brother," she greeted in a monotone voice. Ichigo tore his angry eyes away from his father to nod in reply towards Karin.

"How was your day?" Yuzu's much more cheerful voice came to focus as she exited the kitchen and came to Ichigo's side, holding a steaming bowl of rice with two chopsticks impaling the white wonderland. The brother took the bowl and smiled warmly.

"Thank you," he whispered and took a bite, realizing just how hungry he was. He'd slept in that morning and has little time to make himself breakfast, let alone lunch. "It was alight," he answered her, taking bigger chomps. Ignoring his father, who was now being tended to by Yuzu, Ichigo took a seat next to the small family table and finished up the starter food.

"You gonna eat the rest upstairs as usual?" Karin questioned as she warmed up her plate of meat and vegetables, without looking at her brother. Her tone suggested irritation, an emotion the Kurosaki son was used to now.

"I gotta get to work," he answered, wondering why he needed such a lame excuse. "I'll just eat quickly."

Karin made an 'hm' sound and said no more, trying to crush that familiar disappointment welling up inside her gut. Ichigo hardly ever ate with the family anymore so she shouldn't have felt anything when he gave her the reply she'd been expecting. It didn't numb the pain though.

Ichigo slurped down the rest of his rice, as well as warmed spicy chicken soup, and made his way upstairs, his father resorting to teasing Yuzu and Karin now. The old goat never seemed to stop. Ichigo kicked his door open with his foot and kicked it closed, flicking on the lights and throwing his half-opened knapsack on the modern blue cotton bed across from him. He moved to sweep the white curtains closed and rearranged the contents on his desk, from his three colognes to his box of extra erasers, pens and pencils. He didn't know why he'd fallen into this ritual, but organizing and changing positions kept his mind preoccupied. But not for long this time.

The teenager sensed the darkened aura before it made itself obvious. He sighed and contemplated ignore the sudden chill in the air but he knew how temperamental demons were and if it was the one he was expecting, ignoring was not an option if he wanted to keep his fingers intact.

Ichigo turned and, casually as he could, leaned back on his old wooden desk, scratched and maimed from years of frustrated pencil tapings and scissor craving when he was bored. Brown eyes locked on the shaky air near his bed and he sighed, rubbing his left eye in annoyance.

"Yeah, what do you want?"

The air that already looked watery shook and sizzled even more until an image projected, like a screenplay in an old movie theatre. First, there was simply a white blob, than it began to take the figure of a human. Or something of a humanoid form. It turned into a silhouette and quickly 3D-ed itself, one long skinny leg placed in front of it's left duplicate. When Ichigo's sight finally met with the demon's he almost congratulated himself. He was noting the difference in spirit energy now, which he'd trained to do for four good years.

"Just a messenger today," Nnoitra Jiruga cackled, grinning his signature creeper smile, which never ceased to make Kurosaki shiver. "You'll be packed for the week. Got a major oil spill near the Mediterranean. Wiped out a few cities along Greece's coastlines."

Ichigo knew that. Nnoitra knew he knew that. Every other demon _should_ know he knew that. The carrot top's daily routine consisted of checking the news in practically all it's forms, from articles in the newspaper to bulletins on the Internet. He was subscribed to some magazines that depicted and detailed major incidents and future promises of terror and destruction should a factor, or factors, in an area not be solved. Though he was reluctant to take any interest, the science and logic behind it all fascinated him over time and now, he aspired to becoming a geologist, or even an economic or humanitarian activist. At least that was something to look forward to in the near future. He strived on gaining piles upon piles of goals to keep himself busy and to shortly forget his true status at the moment.

"Maybe you doubt them too much," Ichigo finally commented. Nnoitra continued to simply stand there, still smiling, still as arrogant as the first day Ichigo had met the Fifth level's Lord Demon.

"If there were any doubts, I'd have sent Tesla or some other lowlife goblin to tell you this," the taller man flicked his hand up and down in a parody of a Broadway dancer. Well, that was true. He had a knack for letting others, even other Lord demons, do the dirty work, whatever it may be, for him. Ichigo had been a victim of this ignorance more than once in his years of servitude to Hell.

Confused? 'Course, anyone would be. Ichigo wouldn't know where to start should anyone find out much less believe him if he were to speak of his secret, even to the clueless and gullible Keigo Asano. But the bottom line was, it was the honest formality. Ichigo Kurosaki worked for Satan in a way most mortals would be too shocked to possibly imagine. But to the teenager, it was better than the other occupations he was offered. How easy it was to simply hold the door open for damned souls and ushering them into Hell's Court to be judged. Well, he'd like to think it was the easiest job, but it wasn't. Better than serving the Lords of the nine levels of Hell, but it was still awful to see the look, the frightened, helpless and pathetically vulnerable look, that the men, women and even the very occasional children wore while they passed the mortal. Like they sensed his humanity and tried to grab onto it like hungry animals. Kurosaki needed to remind himself all the time that these people put themselves in this situation. And some may not even remain in Hell. Some might get an excruciation and be sent to Heaven for another trial. It's not like it's never happened before.

"I got something coming up this week," Ichigo informed, turning away from the demon, which was a mistake that he soon realized when Nnoitra took two long strides over to stand beside him and lean down, emphasizing their height difference. The foxy-like smile took on a lewd form and a large hand grazed up the teenager's shoulder and squeezed his shoulder.

"You have no power to turn down your duty," the Lord demon hissed. Ichigo glared at his hands and shook Nnoitra off him. "Remember that, human."

Ichigo turned, his mouth already open to retort, to explain his difficult position, but he quickly locked his jaw closed as he stared at the open space next to him. There didn't seem to be any proof of the demon's presence anywhere and the carrot top grumbled in annoyance. Those Lord demons…they were always in a rush. Ichigo had no idea why as many of them, and he knew this from experience, lazed around, did nothing and didn't occupy their duties. They simply acted all high and mighty, wallowing in self-pity, complaining as if the whole Underworld weighed on their shoulder. Kurosaki knew better than to engage any of the Lord demons in petty chats when they were in 'that mood'.

_Screw them_, Ichigo scrunched his nose up in a grimace, and turned back around.

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The tall, tanned demon, whose long body lay against the edges of barbed spikes, watched and admired the red, almost transparent strings of light that represented abused spirits, weaving carelessly, like clouds, around it, over it and under it. There was a complete silence, as if sound itself was locked out and never allowed into this area of still time.

The clicking and shutting of a door signalled the peace's end for now and the goblin sighed, unvested, but pulled itself up to a sitting position and smiled, showing pointed slightly yellow teeth, at the newcomer.

"Good morrow," it cackled. The demon's hay-coloured hair that was normally left to reach the mid of it's back was tied back in a sharp ponytail, brandishing the two thick black horns sprouting from either side of it's temple. Golden eyes pierced Ichigo's forehead as the human entered the forbidden realm of the Hellion. The demon jumped from it's sitting position at the very top of a large, looming grey gate with black spirals sealing off the demonic aura seeping through the edges, and came to stand right next to it. It clearly felt more confident next to the comforting evil then next to the humanoid, who practically reeked of civilization, but with a dire hint of merciless defiance.

Ichigo did not even look at the creature, but answered with a small voice, "Findor."

"You're early," the blonde continued to hiss, probing the human for a reaction. The first few weeks of greeting the diligent male had been the highlight of FindorCarias's post as Ichigo's guard. But since the human had taken to avoiding any ways of conversation with most of Hell's demons, the blonde didn't find any of the humour he'd been rewarded with before. Now, it was simple teasing on his end, contempt from Ichigo and that was it. He was just there to make sure the human got to 'work' on time and didn't dilly-dally with setting himself up.

Ichigo knew this and, wanting to be rid of the leering blonde quickly, took to himself. He folded the crumpled and scratchy purple and black turban that was demanded of him to wear around his body while on patrol tightly, fixed the hood that went along with the outfit and adjusted the mask that hid everything but his eyes and the bridge of his nose. There was no temperature in the hallway leading to Hell's Gates so Ichigo didn't feel hot in the heavy outfit but it still seemed totally unnecessary to him. The damned souls could sense his humanity without looking at him, so what was with the lame disguise? Ichigo didn't bother asking questions anymore.

Findor yawned loudly and glanced across at the human who simply gave the creature a curt nod, the only sign other than his first comment of acknowledging the goblin. Findor wanted to sneer at the boy's arrogance but realizing his tiredness let the moment go this time. The demon gave a small wave and, with a simple push that would be the equivalent of one million human men pushing with all their might, flicked open Hell's Gates and strolled into the chorus of cries and screams that would keep you awake at night for the rest of you life, and a titanic sense of doom and destruction unlike anything the human world would ever experience.

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Ulquiorra Cifer snapped the long, snake scaled whip in his hand tightly in front of a cowering bald old man, kicking up dirt and rumble on the ground. The man stopped dead in his tracks but he kept on quivering like a twig in a wind storm. His sockets where large black eyes used to be turned and searched for the source of the whip, but Ulquiorra didn't give him a chance to search, cracking the whip again, this time on the soul's back. The elder's chapped lips let out a muffled squeal and he tumbled down easily. The others around him paid him no mind, stepping over and around his fallen body. Ulquiorra kicked the man's feet and swiftly turned away, his face emotionless and blank as a canvas, and cruised over to the panel were nine seats of shiny oak stood perfectly organized side by side.

The pale Lord demon took his spot in a seat were the green block number '4' floated above, burning with an imaginary fire. Already the three Lord demons whose numbers stood lower then Ulquiorra's were sitting in their appropriate places.

Coyote Starrk was mumbling to himself, eyes half-open, and his thin form slouching on the chair's right hand. In any case, the Lord of the first level of Hell had a reason to be tired and lazy. His domain wasn't exactly the most exciting as there was no torment in it, only a heavy blanket of sadness for those so close to reaching Heaven but who will never actually make it. Right next to the bearded creature, sitting more befittingly, was the round and wrinkly Baraggan Luisenbarn, who's arms were folded in front of him and who's head was cocked towards the growing crowd of shivering souls. The elder-looking demon was gruff, no doubt, and his appearance did not hide how harshly cruel and proud he was on the inside. Tia Harribel, the Lady demon of the third level of Hell was next in line, her back straight and her eyes focused at nothing in front of her. She was a real beauty but cunning and sly, with an ability to be as gentle as butterfly one minute and as vicious as a hungry lion in the next second.

Ulquiorra slid into his spot beside her.

"I trust the boy as arrived," the Lady commented, not turning away from whatever she was watching.

"Yes," Ulquiorra answered plainly.

Unlike most of the Lords, Harribel saw no problems in having the human teenager work for them as the spirit handler. She believed that humans, especially younger ones, had a youthfulness that could take the darkness of Hell and adapt to it in a better term. Ulquiorra, on the other hand, despised the idea from the minute it was announced. He did not meet Harribel's ideals very well, believing that humans were pathetic and wry at every point in their short lives. The boy had become a useful tool but Ulquiorra had not grown to tolerate him at all. There was something edgy about that mortal, something unnatural and bizarre, and his brown eyes were the most unnerving pair of pupils the demon had ever seen. But since he _was_ loyal to Hell, Ulquiorra never voiced his opinion about the boy in meetings with other goblins and deities, keeping his thoughts to himself. Everyone tended to leave him alone anyways.

The door at the side of the makeshift courtroom swung open and Ulquiorra heard Baraggan curse at the loud entering. He did not need to turn his head to know who'd walked in.

"Ulquiorra, let me borrow your scrolls for a little while," Grimmjow vilified loudly, coming straight up in front of the black haired Lord with a signature scowl on his lips.

Of all the creatures that stalked Hell, Ulquiorra Cifer didn't think he hated anyone as much as he _despised_ Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez. The giant, buff Lord was everything the fourth hated about anything and anyone. Sarcastic, selfish, brash, rude, crude, blunt, short-tempered, impulsive, savage, disrespectful, childish; Ulquiorra could go on and on. Grimmjow was simply a pile of trash in the fourth's assessment, constantly up to something and always getting in the way. He didn't seem to understand his role of ruling the sixth level of Hell and always procrastinated in his duties, cursing Satan and hating nearly anything that moved. In fact, ironically speaking, Grimmjow had _actually sorted_ everything he disliked about his world, the human world and the Other world in one elongated list.

Unfortunately, that list did not seem to include Ichigo Kurosaki. Another point of dispute between the two Lords. Because while Ulquiorra never spoke of the teenager, and while no one else seemed to know what he thought of Ichigo, Grimmjow, in all of his mountain-high bad points, was a perceptive little bastard and knew exactly what conclusion the fourth had drawn for the human. And frankly, it crashed with _his_ notion.

Because Grimmjow was extremely frank about his interest in Ichigo, and everyone with half a brain could see that.

"Sit down, Grimmjow," Tia sighed, a headache suddenly forming in her skull. The sixth tended to bring about that every time he was around her.

Grimmjow instead ignored her entirely, turned away from all three demons, and smiled. "Hey, is our Strawberry back?"

How the idiot demon knew one of the English translations for 'Ichigo', Ulquiorra wasn't sure. Really, he didn't care either, but it was irritating.

"Actually, Kurosaki will be helping Nel sort the souls allowed into Heaven today," Tia scuffled, shifting in her seat. "And _you_ will be busy filing in all the souls judged into _your_ domain. Based on the theme of your level, you might have quite the handful*."

Ulquiorra solemnly, more often then not, sided with Harribel for her authority with the overly arrogant Grimmjow, who's scowl returned as he eyed Tia with benevolence but did not dare answer back. The last time he'd scoffed about her, it took him three days to find every piece of his body scattered across Hell, starting from his head and ending with his left toe. That had been a humorous and enjoyable three days for Ulquiorra.

"Sit down, Grimmjow" Harribel repeated with a pointed tone.

"And I'll be needing my scrolls," Ulquiorra added, remembering the original question he'd been asked.

Not one to take a gang up, especially from his fellow Lords, Grimmjow 'pffted' at both demons and strolled off, making a louder exited than his entrance.

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_***To save you from researching, according to Dante's Inferno, the sixth level of Hell is for those who did not believe in God and the afterlife wholeheartedly. Some people speculate this is the most filled of all the levels of Hell.**_

_**In any case, I guess I couldn't fit in Grimmjow and Ichigo meeting in this chapter. I'll hopefully be able to do that next time! I want it to be at just the right moment so it doesn't look forced or implausible. Oh and sorry for the late update! I'll be doing my exams soon, so once they are done, hopefully I'll have more time on my hands to get more chapters up.**_


	3. Chapter 2

_**Thank you all again for your wonderful reviews! I've gone on a long trip with my family so I apologize again for the lack of updating! Please enjoy this chapter and please do not hesitate to point out any grammatical errors or other kinds of criticism.**_

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Nel Tu trotted across the solid concrete floor, her small feet making pitter-patter sounds as they hit the cold stone and her arms extended out in a model of airplane wings. Her large golden eyes, lit up and sparkling with life despite her species, scanned the familiar hallways with interest, obviously searching for something. Or rather, searching for one particular door. Occasionally, a beast or troll-like thing entered into the little girl's trail and she quickly darted past them, struggling not to get in their way for fear of being scolded at a point when she simply had no time to anger a stronger creature.

The sight of a welcoming demon, however, caused Nel to wave her arms around excitedly. "Pesche! Pesche!" she called, running right over to the startled goblin. The little girl grabbed Pesche's loin cloth and practically tore it from it's knot.

"N-Nel! Don't do that!" he exclaimed, trying to pry the small fingers gently but with pressing need. Pesche Guatiche was a short demon, compared to the majority, purple-skinned and nearly twig skinny. Solid armour covered his chest and even harder material hugged his arms up to the elbow and his legs up to the knee. A mask resembling the fossil remnants of a sort of dinosaur covered his face but speaks of blonde hair sprouted from the back of his neck where the mask couldn't reach. Pesche worked as an assistant to Hell's Library and this was the exact reason Nel was happy to see him. Not that she didn't like the creature. He was one of her closest friends.

"Pesche, are you going to see Neliel?" the childish demon asked, letting go of the small white cloth tied around the demon's hips to grin widely up at him.

"Oh yes I am!" Pesche answered with modesty, "do you want to come with me to her?"

Nel nodded extravagantly. "Itsygo is here, right?"

Suddenly, the mystery of her jumpy nature had been shed. "Kurosaki? Yes, he's working with Neliel today to sort out some scrolls."

The small baby deity was extremely fond of the human servant. The minute she'd met him, though, his being and humanity had scared Nel. He was like an exotic creature to her and his seemingly permanent scowl had mistaken his nature as crude and spoiled. It was only after he agreed to play "eternal tag" with her for a few hours that she warmed to him despite his discomfort at her loud voice and frantic nature at times. He had a soft composure with her that was unusual in Hell. Pesche had been a little jealous at first when he saw Nel smile and laugh whole heartedly with the human, but decided that if she was happy, so was he.

Nel clung to the demon's hand as they strolled down a long and well endowed hall, covered in pictures of ugly monsters carrying pitchforks and rocks, surrounded by angry mountains and hot red volcanoes spitting lava and doom across a small, crying town. It was an old painting, obviously, but the priests and priestesses at the time had a much more accurate and serious picture of Hell then the modern world. And besides, the portraits gave the hallway a lot more life then if they were still a pale violet colour. Nel found them amusing.

They arrived shortly to a large, crimson door, smooth like oak and shiny with newly added grease. Brass handles the colour of iron twisted in it's design and swirled outward and across the surface outlined in orange from the pale artificial light above. Pesche pressed a hand to see if the entryway was locked. It wasn't unusual for Neliel to lock them during her working period. She was the type to get easily distracted should someone come to bother her. Only those that worked closely with her, like Pesche and Ichigo, knew a certain incantation that would allow the gates to open up. But it was a troublesome routine and Pesche was happy to feel that the doors were unlocked this time and he pushed them open without trouble.

Candles were lit at every intersection of the spacious room, emitting a light heat wave that felt a little too humid for the purple-skinned demon. Nel however was fond of being warm and didn't seem disgruntled by that or the tall and foreboding aisles that reached right to the domed ceiling. Other shelves lined the walls and curved around in a circle. Books and scrolls of every aspect of Hell and subjects surrounding the damned realm sat patiently and dusty on the spaces they occupied, well balanced and alphabetical. Remnants of broken ornaments and other curious objects that Neliel seemed loving towards graced a small corner on the other side of the doors, locked up in a glass case and open as a display.

Nel ran past Pesche as he took his time crossing the room, and made it half way to the front of the room before forgetting to run and deciding to jump the rest of the way there. Her small body landed on the first figure sitting at the side of the chiselled wooden desk, dark and carved with withered flowers and vines, with an excited cry.

"ITSYGO!"

Ichigo yelped in surprise and nearly toppled out of his seat at the weight of the childish demon. His dropped his inked pen though and the wet tip dripped onto the ground creating a dissatisfying stain.

Pesche quickly finished his detour in a quick and distressed walk. His long arms reached for Nel who was nearly chocking the poor human with her bear hug around the neck. "Oh dear! S-Sorry about that, Kurosaki!" he exclaimed feverously.

Neliel, who'd sat there in mild curiosity for those few seconds, broke into a tight giggle as she watched her long-time employee struggle to rip her tiny sister off of Ichigo who was seemingly trying to talk Nel into letting him go though she didn't look like she was even planning to let up.

"Nel! Now you leave Ichigo alone! Can't you see you're bothering him!" Neliel exclaimed with a broad smile when she was finished milking the amusement of the repeated scene before her.

Nel blinked, as if realizing her older sister, and prominently let go of Ichigo's neck and escaped Pesche's arms to quickly seal a place on the woman's lap instead.

If one where to lay there eyes on the two creatures for the first time, there was no way they could deny the strong resemblance. Neliel Odelschwanck was a lovely demon, tall and olive-skinned with sharp but warm caramel eyes and a thin mouth. Long wavy hair, alternating between sea blue and aqua, beautified her features rightly. Two small horns on the top of her head, barely bumps, sprouted outwards and was the only indication that the woman was not of the human world. Other than that, Ichigo was sure she could pass for a teacher or at least one of those gentle mother-like women that ran flower shops despite her absurd hair colour. She also didn't have that piercing, haunting nature that clouded the auras of every beast in Hell.

Nel Tu looked exactly like Neliel if she was but a young child. Nel had the same eyes, bigger though, and a smaller mouth. Her hair was the same in colour and nature but shorter, barley touching her neck, and her own pair of horns were larger and more curled. She was smaller, too, of course, only a little lower than Ichigo's knees, and far more energetic then the usually calm and stable Neliel.

However, the two were not technically sisters in the mortal sense of the word. Rather, Nel was like a part of Neliel that had been separated when Hell's Fire had created them. Why Neliel's nature was ripped into two was unknown but what _was_ obvious was that Nel embodied a sort of childhood world that Neliel didn't need. Ichigo could admit he was confused when the older-looking demon had explained her situation with Nel, but decided that he would just see them as siblings. Neliel had taken the idea of being 'sisters' with Nel to heart rather that calling her a chibi-form 'half-ling' or a 'deception of another life'.

Neliel ran the library of Hell. It was the main place to stash scrolls that recorded all of the deceased, the dead that now blundered around the nine layers of Hell, as well as books on the types of creatures that resided in the dimension. This information was needed as the rate of demons being created was escalating surely, and Neliel liked to organize everyone just as she liked to organize practically everything else. Ichigo would occasionally crack open these books and educate himself because, well, he was there for life and might as well get to know about all the different kinds of brutes in this world. Neliel appreciated and enjoyed the companionship of the human, half because he kept her little sister preoccupied when she was particularly accelerated and half because she found him interesting. She, unlike others, was fascinated with the human world and humans in general. While you know what to expect of most demons in Hell and most angles in Heaven, humans were a totally different story. They were unpredictable, always up to something and were always a thrill to watch and observe. Neliel had found herself over-flowed with emotions she'd never been familiar with whenever she saw one human kick a defenceless animal and another help an elderly folk up a long flight of stairs. She'd wanted to ask Ichigo a million questions whenever he came over to help her but thought that getting eagerly excited would just frighten the human away and she really did not want to do that. He was a friendly human, always happily chatting about his family and his friends and his life that went on despite his position in Hell. She admired his optimism and his stories dearly.

"Ichigo will be helping me sort out the souls today," Neliel went on explaining to the small version of herself as she finished writing the name of one of the Greek men who'd died in the oil spill recently. She'd had her hands full with the anguishing situation that had occurred due to a worker's incompetence in keeping his end of the job well. The oil had spilt into the dusty streets, streets that connected cities even, heated up to an impossible level and burning every human that got in it's path. It was a major tragedy in the human world. To Neliel, it was just overwork.

"Can I come with?" Nel asked, her large eyes innocent and wanting.

Ushering souls was not a deadly job per-say. However it was tiring and required concentration which Nel could guarantee would not be possible. But those big round eyes spoke higher volumes in the woman's chest. "Well now, sure, I suppose," Neliel answered sighing. She really wasn't strong when it came to the little creature. Ichigo explained to her that the emotion was called 'love' and it wasn't a weakness by his standards. Nel cheered happily and clapped. "And Pesche can stay and finish up the work!"

"What! You can't just dump it on me!" the skinny creature cried. Ichigo chuckled and Nel pouted.

"Come now! We've done so much already! You only have to organize the time of deaths and names!"

Pesche simply let out a deep breathe of air. He really should be used to this by now. He certainly hoped that the other assistant, and a good companion, Dondochakka, was around, at least, to entertain him a bit. "Very well then. But hurry back!"

Neliel couldn't really promise anything. She, Ichigo and Nel, who'd returned to strapping herself onto Ichigo's back, left the library and went down the hallway, searching for the one door that lead 'outside'. After taking many confusing turns, some of which gave Ichigo a headache as he still got a bit lost in the long-winding halls, they found the exit, two skinny blue doors, and stepped out and down the boarded stairs to the soiled ground below. The building was familiarly called the Main building because it was smack dab in the centre of the Main level of Hell which was occupied by the creatures that did not belong in any of the other levels. Here, the monsters frolicked and socialized, playing pranks on each other instead of tormenting the souls of the dead. It was like a playground in Ichigo's eyes but he kept his mouth shut and his gaze down when he was there. It wasn't a pleasant setting. Below, the ground was flaked with only a few spits of grass but otherwise it resembled a deserted field, brown and auburn coloured dirt packed beside each other. There was always something funky smelling in the air and the sky was a green-black coloured with shadows of red streaks here and there. The cackling laughter of the demons racked the human's ear drums uncomfortably and he liked nothing more than finishing his work in the building and escaping their mocking sneers.

Where they were going, thankfully, was far more pleasant.

The trio crossed the barren landscapes, ignoring the deities that harassed them occasionally, and stepped right into an empty space, vanishing suddenly. Ichigo didn't think he'd ever get his head wrapped around the idea of mystery dimensions, completely undetectable until you put your foot out in front of you and watched in disappear into thin air. He didn't know how Neliel could sense them but it was one of her attributes and Ichigo tended to trust her with stuff anyways.

Out they came into another wide area but this one was far brighter then the Main level. It was nearly purely white safe for some speaks of blue that defined where the floor ended and where the wall began. There was one entry way shaped like an arch that led out to what appeared to be a blue sky but Ichigo knew better. It was only a gateway, given a soft colour so merciful to eyes that had gazed only at horror and ugliness from the get-go of the afterlife. Ichigo, being still a soul himself, felt mesmerized by the glow of Heaven's start, and knew the crowd that did not fill up even half of the expansion felt the same way. Free and light, without worry or shame, like they could float up and up into a never-ending passage of happiness.

"Come, Ichigo," Neliel whispered softly, once again captivated by the way the humans looked towards the wide gate. When she and Nel looked at it, the blurred light hurt their demonic eyes, but when the mortals saw it...it was as if they weren't there, despite being souls, like they were already in Heaven and not at the foot of it. "Time for work."

Ichigo quickly snapped out of his trance and had to tear his eyes away from the pure sight before him. Nel squirmed in her position on his back and fell to the floor gently, one chubby hand gripping her older sister's black robe as she stepped nearer towards the doorway. It was big enough to allow all of the anima to leave at once but that just caused a mess of things and frankly, the occupants of Hell were not interested in making their lives harder when their angel counterparts were at ease. Neliel ordered everyone to get into a line and it was amazing that they even comprehended what she'd said at all, too blissful about the prospect of entering Heaven despite their miniscule sins. As one by one past, Ichigo and Neliel noted their names, ages and most major accomplishments. Their sins were not a needed list for Heaven.

At times like these, Ichigo felt a sort of wave of disappointment. There really were not a lot of souls that had been judged a decided upon to not be punished. He felt that it was a slap in the face of humanity at the moment. Checks like these only happened once every month even though the number of deaths every day was astonishing. That left thousands of psyche to wonder and worry about their afterlife future for quite awhile and Ichigo, being an impatient person at times, could feel their pain. He didn't think he could stand waiting a month to know.

One could estimate it took only about two hours to get everyone checked and out of Hell for good. Neliel could already feel a strain in her back and she groaned, punching her spine with a fist though that didn't do any good. Ichigo smiled and took the papers they'd taken with them from her. He placed two sets of twenty sheets together, rolled them up, and tying each group in thick black ribbons.

"Let's go. I need to send these to Heaven as soon as possible so they can adjust their system for more people," Neliel informed, wrapping the gown she called clothing tighter around her slender form. Ichigo nodded and slid the parchments into the sleeves of his loose purple garment.

Nel, who'd watched with expected boredom, now smiled up at the human with a gleam. "Itsygo, can we play now?"

Kurosaki grinned warmly and nodded.

"Fuckin' annoying…"

Ichigo's grin retreated as quickly as it had come and his stance suddenly turned rigid, his blood thumping wildly. Neliel in comparison was calm but annoyed dearly at her ruined mood, and her mouth turned into a clasped frown while her eyes narrowed considerably. Nel shivered and shook at the gruff voice and ran right to her sister's leg, burying her face into the sweet smelling robe.

"You're not supposed to be here," Neliel scolded, watching as Grimmjow's arrogant form descended upon the trio who were all obviously rejecting him with their body language. He didn't really care much. He never cared when he was unwelcome, always just there and obnoxious.

Two muscled arms, halfway covered with woollen oriental sleeves, wrapped themselves around Ichigo's neck and a large body pressed against the teenager's back collectedly. Grimmjow wasn't a whole lot taller then Ichigo but he still had to angle himself forward to place his pointed chin on the human's head, burying it into long locks of orange.

"What an annoying woman. Seriously…why don't you come by my room instead? It's a lot nicer than this place, I promise."

Ichigo's nose scrunched up in frustration and his eyes blazed.

"Why aren't you dealing with the commissions in your level?" Neliel asked roughly, noting her friend's afflicted face. This always happened. Grimmjow made a game out of teasing Ichigo every time the human came around. Neliel always feared that the Lord demon's free taunting on the Main level would put off Kurosaki and he would never come around her workplace again. She hated the idea of losing a good person to the likes of Grimmjow's antics.

"I'm finished all _that_," he acknowledged loosely, more focused on pushing Ichigo closer towards him, "but seriously, I haven't had time to come and see you, Ichi. Miss me?"

"Get off," Ichigo grumbled and tried to elbow the creature. Grimmjow detached himself before it made contact but stood relatively close to the human.

"Still so cold. That hurts you know," the sixth Lord demon cooed sarcastically.

Nel raised her head from the confines she'd sunken in and pouted angrily at Grimmjow. She still had a death grip on Neliel but exclaimed, "leave Itsygo alone! He doesn't like you!"

Grimmjow glanced down irritatingly, gazing at Nel as if she was a bug. "Do you wanna die 'r something, kid?" he scoffed and waved the kid of with a flick of his hands.

"You're stupid!" she cried angrily. "Stupid Grimmjow!"

"God, shut up!" the Lord demon advanced onto the child but Neliel beat him, picking the child up and cradling her into her chest, daring Grimmjow with her eyes. It wasn't that she was a weakling compared to him, but her specialty didn't involve a head to head fight with a deity that ruled one of the nine layers. But she couldn't allow someone as arrogant as Grimmjow to gain an upper hand because of that.

"Go back to the library," Ichigo chimed in unexpectedly. Neliel moved her furious eyes towards the human, her expression melting into that of worry.

"What?"

He could have allowed this to continue, Ichigo knew that. To let Neliel and Grimmjow banter and argue till their throats were dry and their prides were swollen. But really, he wasn't in the mood today. Every time this happened, the outcome was always the same. So might as well skip the difficult, messy part. Grimmjow turned back to the orange-haired teenager with a feral grin, thinking himself quite successful. Neliel knew that nothing in this world could stop the cocky demon from getting what he wanted, that being a thing, a goal or a person, and knew her demands to leave Ichigo alone were useless. But she wasn't the kind of woman to give in.

"Just go. Take Nel with you, too. I promise I'll catch up later if I can," he answered, trying for a calm smile but ultimately failing.

"No Itsygo!" Nel chirped unhappily, reaching out towards him desperately. Ichigo caught the hand in his own and he squeezed gently.

"I'll play eternal tag with you when I get back, ok?" he assured.

Nel could only sniff at the unconvincing promise but said nothing more. Neliel clutched her little 'sister' tightly, shooting one more, sour glare at Grimmjow that affirmed some sort of torture should he do something obscene and stepped away, her whole day coming down in a crushing heap at her feet.

"You and your useless kindness, pfft," Grimmjow groaned when the two females left. He blinked and narrowed his small eyebrows at the glow that surrounded them in distaste. Somehow it didn't seem as graceful and light anymore with the Lord demon's presence there. Ichigo only looked back at him with something that resembled a benevolent expression. Grimmjow smiled back non-to-kindly and grasped the human's smaller body, clutching at him again. "So, strawberry, have you decided to become mine yet?"

"You're so _annoying_…" Ichigo, flushed now, responded, with growl in the last word. Instead of snapping back like he would to most others, Grimmjow only laughed and leaned in to peck the human's cheek.

"Cute," the Lord demon sniggered and his large clawed hand snatched Ichigo's wrist bristly. Kurosaki let him lead the way, mostly because he really didn't know any other way out of this plane but also because he was sick of fighting a battle he knew he couldn't win.

Ichigo had worked in and for Hell for a long four years, taking everything from the cold stares and disapproving glowers to being a laughingstock and a new toy of sorts. He'd trained for years in the art of holding his tongue and never giving the cruel creatures' the reaction they wanted. Some had left him and some had tried even harder to bring him to his knees. It wasn't long before he thought, confidently, that he had everything in Hell all figured out. But then, one year ago, the Lord demon of the Sixth level of Hell had prominently shoved Ichigo off his high horse and caught him off guard entirely. Grimmjow had loudly proclaimed that day that Ichigo was his prey and an untouchable person to any that dared lay a finger on him. He hadn't even tried to be subtle about it and while is proved to be a strong shield against the badgering of even the other Lord demons, it became a true embarrassment to the human when he caught the sneers-turned-leers shot his way from male and female creatures alike.

It wasn't long before a rumour declaring that Grimmjow and Ichigo were 'together' spread like wild fire the far reaches of the land. Ichigo had heard about it from Neliel who'd been seriously questioning him if it was true or not. The human had freaked out and wondered if Grimmjow had started such a rumour. It ended up being someone else, but the damage was done and he was branded. Which Grimmjow wasn't complaining about. It only made Ichigo feel even more uneasy. No matter how much he tried to get used to the advances of the Lord demon Ichigo just couldn't stop a sheet of pink to cross his nose bridge whenever Grimmjow shot perverse and rude comments his way in front of others. He feared what would happen should he not stop this soon. The demons have Hell were among the worst of the worst and were not afraid to do anything they want from killing to pillaging. And Ichigo knew he could do nothing against Grimmjow's supernatural strength should he get impatient and simply drag the teenager to bed.

No one, not even the ones that remotely liked Ichigo, could do anything or did anything about his dire situation. Both Neliel and Nel tried all the time, trying to take up most of Ichigo's attention, but whenever he was alone, evidently Grimmjow would find him somehow. It dragged his time in Hell longer than it should and while he'd been scolded for this, Grimmjow didn't come to care all too much as long as he could continue aggravating the human.

So Kurosaki had to fend for himself, which only enticed the Lord demon further; meaning it didn't help much when he ignored Grimmjow's crude requests and snapped back whenever he felt a purposeful hand grace his lower back. He didn't know how to get out of this relationship that seemed to take root between the two but wished dearly for someone to at least advise him one what to do.

Grimmjow was such a stubborn guy, too. Ichigo certainly didn't like him the very first time they met, when he was 13 and reckless enough. Grimmjow had bullied and physically pushed the boy around, complaining about this and that, and watching him from afar as he did his work, criticizing harshly all the time. As he grew older, Grimmjow become very uncaring and even avoided Ichigo most of the time. For the teenager, this seemed like a blessing and hoped it would stay like that. He just wasn't ready to be sexually assaulted at all. By a thing that resided in Hell itself no less! Even if Ichigo asked, he'd never get a definite answer over why Grimmjow had started this anyways, and he really couldn't even guess an answer up.

Ichigo struggled a bit in the death grip the creature had on him, more out of his stubbornness than a will to escape, as they stepped out of Heaven's gate, straight across the Main level and teleported out into the Sixth level.

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_**Thank you for reading this chapter! I hope it went well. Please look forward to the next one coming out. Also, if anyone has any ideas on where this story should go, please mention that, too!**_


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